Bulgogi Tteokbokki.
I absolutely love this simple banchan – it has a deep savory flavor, along with a playful texture from the chewy rice cakes.
Best of all, this Tteokbokki is NOT spicy!
Yes, that’s right – a non-spicy Korean dish! (Doesn’t come often, so you better try it out heh.)
Typically, Tteokbokki is smothered in a deep-red, spicy gochujang sauce. It make your mouth salivate and your endorphins run…
But in this Bulgogi Tteokbokki, we’ll replace the gochujang with an infused soy sauce - a savory bulgogi marinade!
The combination of savory bulgogi with chewy rice cakes and crunchy vegetables is perfect for a meal.
Serve it alongside a bowl of fresh, hot rice – and you got yourself a wonderfully, savory meal.
Of course, I threw in a side of Jalapenos – as it helps to cuts through the savory, salty flavory. A nice palate refresher 😉
Key cooking tips for Bulgogi Tteokbokki:
Stir-fry the vegetables separately and set it aside - before you add-in the bulgogi marinade.
That way, the marinade doesn’t darken the vegetables too much. It’s nice to have the natural colors of the vegetables shine through – much more visually appealing.
You’ll also want to blanche the rice cakes (until they float to the surface). The rice cakes will be cooked through and soft - before the stir-fry turns the outside nice and crispy!
We’ll also marinate these blanched rice cakes in our bulgogi marinade – for a deeper flavor.
When you cook the bulgogi, there will be lot of juices that get released. Tilt the pan slightly so the juices gather to one side – then let it boil away so the juices evaporate. We don’t want to have too much liquid in the stir-fry.
Note: There is a similar recipe called Gungjung Tteokbokki (it’s slightly more involved). But you can check out both recipes - and see which one you prefer to make.
That’s it folks!
If you make it at home, tag us on IG – we love flipping through pictures of your dishes in the morning! It give us energy to create more recipes.
(P.s. If you’re cooking alone, don’t get bored. Consider listening to our latest podcast episode while you cook!)
Ingredients
- 300 grams of Thinly Sliced Beef (Sirloin Cut is good)
- ⅓ Onion
- A handful of Mushrooms (Use any mushroom)
- Small piece of Carrot (Measure - length of your pinky finger)
- 1 stalk Spring Onion (forearm length)
- 2 cups Rice Cakes
Bulgogi Marinade
- 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Mirim
- 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- Few cracks Black Pepper
Season Vegetables (When Stir-frying)
- Few pinches Salt
- Few pinches Black Pepper
Instructions
Prep Ingredients
- Slice ⅓ of an onion into thin slices.
- Cut-off a piece of carrot (length of your pinky) - then julienne into thin slices.
- Dice some mushroom into bite-sized pieces (~a small handful's worth).
- Dice 1 forearm length of spring onion stalk into thin slices.
Make Bulgogi Marinade
- Take out a mixing bowl and thoroughly mix: Soy Sauce (3 Tablespoons), Sugar (1 Tablespoon), Mirin (1 Tablespoon), Minced Garlic (1 Tablespoon), Sesame Oil (1 Tablespoon) and Black Pepper (4-5 cracks).
- Place 300g of thinly sliced beef into your mixing bowl. Then add-in ⅔ of the bulgogi marinade. Give it a mix with your hands. Then set the meat aside so it can marinate.
Stir-Fry Vegetables
- Place some oil into a frying pan. Once the oil is hot, place-in the diced carrots, onion and mushrooms. Next, season with salt (few pinches) and black pepper (4-5 cracks).
- Stir-fry for a few minutes - or until the onions start to turn translucent. Then turn off heat and pour out onto a plate.
Blanche Rice Cakes
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Once its boiling, add-in 2 cups of rice cakes. Wait a few minutues - until the rice cakes rise to the surface. Then empty the water out through a strainer. Shake off any excess water from the rice cakes.
- Now, place the blanched rice cakes into a mixing bowl. Place-in the remaining ⅓ of bulgogi marinade sauce and give it a nice stir. Set it aside for the next step.
Make Bulgogi Tteokbokki
- Place some oil into a frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add-in the marinated bulgogi beef. Use your chopsticks to separate each beef piece - so it doesn't clump together.
- Then use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut any large slices in half - makes it easier to eat later.
- The bulgogi - as it cooks - will release lot of juice. Tilt the pan to one side - so the juices can pool-up to one side. Then move the frying pan slightly to one side - so you can focus the flame (or heat source) directly under the juices. Let most of the juice sizzle away - until you see large-sized bubbles (reference video).
- Then add in the marinated rice cakes. Followed by the stir-fried carrots, onions and mushrooms. Followed by the diced spring onions.
- Stir-fry for 1 minute. Turn off heat - top-off with a few shakes of sesame seeds.
- Serve with a bowl of hot rice. And a side of Jalapenos or Kimchi!
Carolina Parra says
I made the recipe and it was delicious! Instead of mirin I used white wine and beef hip steak, a very tender beef. Is going to be one of my favorites now, because I can't eat too much spicy dishes. 감사합니다! 잘 먹겠습니다!
Mary says
I doubled the recipe and used spam^_^ because I didn’t have any other meat on hand. I used different vegetables: napa cabbage, zucchini, carrots, & an onion. Still it turned out great! The marinade really makes this dish delicious and my kids approved! Next time, I have to make it with beef! Keep the recipes & cooking videos coming! Thanks!
Annette says
This looks delicious and I’m going to try it! How many servings is it?
Caryn says
I must have missed it but the written recipe doesn't say when to add back the vegetables.
Dan-yul says
Thank you for letting me know! Edited the recipe steps and included it 😉